The present invention relates to the field of automated packaging, and more specifically, to a method of inserting a title sheet or an apparatus for inserting same into a plastic case for an optical disk such as CD (i.e. Compact Disk), DVD (i.e. Digital Video Disk) or the like.
A title sheet is a flexible sheet on which a title of the optical disk and other visual information are printed. A case for an optical disk generally has an openable case body. An optical disk is loaded into one side of the case body and a description sheet is inserted into the other side of the case body. On the front face of the case body is provided a transparent cover for inserting a title sheet.
Conventionally, as there were no automated packaging machines to load an optical disk and insert a title sheet into a case, these loading and inserting operations were performed by hand, which was very troublesome.
The solution to this problem is identified in Onishi, Japanese Patent Application No. 11-217277 and corresponding Japanese Patent Laying-Open Publication 2001-48118. As shown in Onishi, an automated optical disk loading machine is provided, whereby loading of an optical disk and insertion of a title sheet can be automatically conducted.
In operation, as a case conveyor conveys a plurality of cases, an optical disk loading device loads an optical disk into a case, a title sheet inserting device inserts a title sheet into the transparent cover of the case, and a description sheet inserting device inserts a description sheet into a claw portion of the case.
In inserting a title sheet into the case, as a suction pad holding an open case moves downward, the case body is bent into a flat, reversed V-shape. Thus, the transparent cover is deformed into a general V-shape by its own weight, which causes a title sheet insertion space to be formed in the case.
Then, a cope proceeds into the title sheet insertion space of the case with a corrugated title sheet held on the corrugated contact face of the cope. When the title sheet is separated from the cope in the title sheet insertion space, the title sheet is placed in the title sheet insertion space. Thereafter, the cope retreats from the title sheet insertion space.
In the process of title sheet insertion of the above-mentioned machine, after a cope holding the title sheet proceeds into the title sheet insertion space of the case, the cope must once retreat from the title sheet insertion space. Otherwise, the case cannot proceed to the next process. As a result, in the above-mentioned machine, it is impossible to further reduce the cycle time of the machine.
The main object of the present invention is to reduce the cycle time of the title sheet inserting machine.